Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1954 c. 21
Year1954


Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act, 1954

(2 & 3 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 21

An Act to regulate the exercise of statutory rights of entry by or on behalf of Gas Boards and Electricity Boards, and for purposes connected with the matter aforesaid.

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

S-1 Restriction on exercise of rights of entry.

1 Restriction on exercise of rights of entry.

(1) No right of entry to which this Act applies shall be exercisable in respect of any premises except—

(a ) with consent given by or on behalf of the occupier of the premises, or

(b ) under the authority of a warrant granted under the next following section:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply where entry is required in a case of emergency.

(2) This Act applies to all rights of entry conferred by the enactments relating to gas, by the enactments relating to electricity, or by any local enactment, in so far as those rights are exercisable for the purposes of a Gas Board or Electricity Board.

(3) No person shall be liable to a penalty, under any enactment relating to obstruction of the exercise of a right of entry to which this Act applies, by reason only of his refusing admission to a person who seeks to exercise the right of entry without a warrant granted under the next following section.

S-2 Warrant to authorise entry.

2 Warrant to authorise entry.

(1) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of a justice of the peace, on sworn information in writing,—

(a ) that admission to premises specified in the information is reasonably required by a Gas Board or Electricity Board, or by an employee of such a Board, for a purpose so specified;

(b ) that the Board or their employee, as the case may be, would, apart from the preceding section, be entitled for that purpose to exercise in respect of the premises a right of entry to which this Act applies; and

(c ) that the requirements (if any) of the relevant enactment have been complied with,

then subject to the provisions of this section the justice may by warrant under his hand authorise the Board or their employee, as the case may be, to enter the premises, if need be by force.

(2) If, in a case to which the preceding subsection applies, the relevant enactment does not require notice of an intended entry to be given to the occupier of the premises, the justice shall not grant a warrant under this section in respect of the right of entry in question unless he is satisfied—

(a ) that admission to the premises for the purpose specified in the information was sought by a person lawfully requiring entry in the exercise of that right, and was so sought after not less than twenty-four hours' notice of the intended entry had been given to the occupier; or

(b ) that admission to the premises for that purpose was sought in a case of emergency and was refused by or on behalf of the occupier; or

(c ) that the premises are unoccupied; or

(d ) that an application for admission to the premises would defeat the object of the entry.

(3) Where paragraph (a ) of the last preceding subsection applies, section seventy of the Gas Act, 1948 (if entry is required for the purposes of a Gas Board) or section sixty-three of the Electricity Act, 1947 (if entry is required for the purposes of an Electricity Board) shall apply to the service of the notice required...

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